The time is upon us now. We are gathering in Leavenworth Washington today, Wednesday 5th, where the Bavarian style is evident.

Many families will be arriving from all over. From Alaska come Craig and Robin and Steve and Grace Kinney as well as relatives. From California come Dawn and family. From Japan come Chandra and children. From Washington come Forrest and Larae and their kids. From Utah come Nelia and Dick and Mark and Maddie. From Michigan come Mark and Nancy. And I am thinking there are several others that I do not yet know from where they will be arriving. We expect more than 40 all in all. All are planning to gather this evening, many for dinner.

Watch here for daily posts of the goings on.

Beginning on Wednesday August 5 and ending on Sunday August 9, we are planning a wonderful time to visit, re-connect, sing, share, eat, and have fun. Visit our website at www.kinneyreunion.org for more information.

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DAY 1: Wednesday evening gathering

We are off and running. What wonderful energy.

We all came together at the Alpine Rivers Inn for a dinner of taco salad and chips, which was a great way to refresh the troops after their journeys of arrival. Then in the evening we

joined in our first circle and had a rousing singing session led by Benjamin Baker which included lots of body gestures and verses of old faithfuls made unique to the Kinney clan.

As a special part of the celebration, Dawn came up with a cake to celebrate Chandra’s birthday. Of course we all had to sing our best for Chandra, who was not to be outdone in her appreciation.

DAY 2: Thursday, the first FULL day

A cooler day dawned early on Thursday at Leavenworth. We were all happy about the beautiful view of the Wenatchee River flowing by our front door.

In the morning there was a choice of museums or a putting green range at one of the local hotels. The museum group went to Cashmere, Washington to the Aplets and Cotlets Factory where delicious fruit Turkish Delight is made and packed. There were generous samples and helpful guides and sales people to tempt us. Yumm!!

Golfing wasn’t as easy as one might think. There were water hazards and sand traps to challenge the golfers in the rolling terrain. Despite the need to rescue balls from ponds and try to hit them out of wet sand, Sariah Baker made a hole-in-one. Congratulations!

Parenthetically there was also an off-schedule “unsanctioned Reunion Hike,” attended by Uncles Mark and Steve and Chairman Mark Hopkins. The scoped out the river swimming hole and checked on routes for the upcoming hikes.

The schedule was flipped to allow for a hike in the afternoon since it was a little cool for swimming. About twenty-five of us hiked along the Wenatchee River west of Leavenworth. It was advertised as a “flat” hike, but there were boulders and places where rock falls spilled across the trail.

At 4:30 we all met at the Lutheran Church for a rehearsal before singing at the Mountain Meadows Assisted Living (Nursing Home) tomorrow.

Under the capable direction of Uncle Steve, we made some music. Some of us doubt the lyrics of “Soon and Very Soon.” We sing it every year and we’re wondering when “Soon” is coming! Having a real piano made it lots easier for accompanist Nelia Hopkins.

We had a real “church supper” tonight. Rotisserie chicken, salad and rolls were on the menu and we ate in the fellowship hall. After dinner with the promise of cookies later, we had the Talent Show. Talent was right! What a family!

Talents ranged from beginners to experts, from dramatic to comic, from funny to VERY SERIOUS! The variety was endless: Chandra and her daughters danced, Forrest and Larae’s family sang the “Band-aid Song,” Benjamin Baker wowed us with his violin, and the Hahns made us laugh with a series of skits.

DAY 3: Thursday, swimming, pictures of all, and singing at the long term care facility

Another cooler day greeted us. Breakfast here is provided by the hotel, and there is a European flavor to the BabyBel cheese and German bread, yogurt and granola. The best part is that it’s “All You Can Eat” and we have some big appetites.

Portraits of the family groups and the whole Kinney Klan were the first order of the day. We went downtown to the park and welcome sign for our background. You’ll notice our stylish family reunion t-shirts, sized for the smallest to largest.

Our morning activity was water play at the Wenatchee River.

The river meanders through the city and there are some islands and near cutoffs where there are beaches and the water slows down enough for wading, splashing water on your family and maybe even some swimming. There’s enough sand to bury some cousins and enough water for some casual canoeing.

In the afternoon we sneaked in another quick rehearsal at the Lutheran Church—their piano was the big draw.

Then we took a shortcut (without getting lost) to the Mountain Meadows Assisted Living Center. There the residents were already seated in their activities room, waiting for us to perform.

They were a very appreciative audience, and they readily joined in on the Sing-Along that Steve led after we sang and played several numbers for them. When we sing, Nelia is our willing and talented accompanist, and we really appreciate her versatility and style.

Dinner was pizza, provided by a local pizza shop.We agreed that it was great pizza and we all liked the variety and quality

The evening activity was Family History Night. Kathy Hahn and Mark Hopkins had devised a game that involved story-telling by teams about past Kinney experiences together. We remembered and learned a lot about the family and laughed a lot. We had a conference call with some of the absent family and they contributed stories as well.

Tomorrow we’re looking forward to a wedding and a game of team stunts: our own “Amazing Race.”

DAY 4: Saturday, A Wedding and the Auction

Another cool morning with lots of sunshine.

Tricia and Matt’s wedding was a big success. For those who don’t know them well, they live near Iowa City and both work at the VA Hospital there. They brought Tricia’s daughter Sydney and Matt’s son Lucas came with them to join in the fun. Matt’s aunt and uncle live nearby in Wenatchee, and they were with us as wedding guests. The wedding “reception” was a family gathering with smoked salmon and goodies and a barbecue on the hotel lawn. We all shared a cake and lots of good wishes for them.

In the afternoon, we participated in “The Amazing Race.” Kathy had figured out a series of semi-adventuresome tasks for teams of three to perform. For example, we had to turn over a towel while all three standing on it! There were individual tasks as well: one team member in a bathing suit had to retrieve three Ziploc bags with a rock and a question in them from the bottom of the pool and then answer the three family trivia questions. There was enough challenge and activity to satisfy even the most active kids and adults. And the winners were (drum roll) the team of : Linley, Lucas, and Wesley!

In the evening we had the family auction. Auctioneer Mark Hopkins was assisted by Nancy Kinney and bookkeeper Robin Kinney. The under -12 set played with Monopoly money and managed to pick up some great bargains after fierce bidding wars for Scrunchies and Dinosaur videos. The Eiffel Tower in several forms was also a big hit.

The over-12’s had to use real money and took home delicious jams and chocolates and exquisite handmade scarves, flower photo notes, cookbooks and assorted other wonders. We finished the evening with ice cream and goodbyes for those leaving early Sunday morning.

DAY 5: Sunday

The last beautiful day in paradise!

The Bakers/Hopkins left at 6:30 and the rest of the first generation took a walk to survey the neighborhood. It’s an upscale place with some beautiful riverfront homes.

After breakfast we kept saying Goodbye to others……..

Until next time!!!!!!!!!!!!

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